Run To Me
by Nanaki BH
Summary: [Reno Rufus] Reno is assigned to guard Rufus after the blast from Diamond. A challenge to prove that Rufus survived. Rating for Reno's language and shounenai. Enjoy!


Disclaimer: Final Fantasy VII and all related material belong to their respective owners and creators.

Note: This was made to prove the point that I could write a fanfic that would prove that Rufus was alive even after the explosion. Yes, it's crazy but it's possible. I CAN DO IT.

Run To Me

By: Nanaki BH

Diamond WEAPON was practically staring me down he felt so close. All I remember before I blacked out was his huge eyes, and a particularly bright flash of light. I felt cruel heat wrap its arms around me, threatening to swallow me. I felt the ground shake below me and it was like I was floating for a moment before I came to the realization that I was in fact falling through the floor. Something smacked me in the head and I can't remember anything else.

Sterile white walls greeted my blurry, awakening vision. I certainly wasn't surprised by the pounding in my head. It was like something was in my skull and it wanted out. I attempted to lift my hand to comfort my throbbing head but was shocked by a sharp pain that shot its way up my arm. I shut my eyes tightly and gritted my teeth. How bad was I?

"Try not to move so much, will you? And if you wanna use an arm, use your right arm. That one shouldn't be as sore." That annoying voice could belong to only one person. My favorite Turk… my…

"Reno!" I gasped. My voice was raspy and my throat hurt, making me wince.

He chuckled. He rested his Electromag Rod against a far corner in the room and dragged a chair near my bed. "You inhaled a shitload of smoke, buddy. They're surprised you didn't suffocate." He looked away momentarily. "And you've got breaks on bones I've never heard the names of." I knew from the shaking in his voice how worried for me he was. "Fuck, Ruf. How the hell is it that you were in the room that got the blast? Why didn't you get outta there? You saw that coming right?" He still didn't look back to me; his shoulders were shaking but it wasn't clear if he was crying or not. I wished I could at least put a hand on his shoulder and say I was sorry but I couldn't get my right arm around to him and my throat wouldn't allow me to speak. It was more painful to watch Reno grieving over me than all the pain in my body.

I coughed harshly, trying to speak. "Reno." I struggled to clear my throat. "Don't go worrying over me." I shifted in the starched sheets uncomfortably.

"Don't worry?" he said, disheartened. He looked back up into my eyes. He hadn't been crying but his eyes appeared bloodshot. "How can I not worry about you? Rufus, if something happened to you…" he bit his lower lip. "I don't know what to say, Ruf. I'm just glad you're going to be okay."

A small light went off in the back of my mind. "Hey, what happened to me? Why _am _I okay?" The most I remembered was the fall. I'm not even sure if that floor lasted.

He shrugged. "Not sure of everything. I was still sort of in shock when they told me you were alive. They said most of the debris was taken care of by the metal desk in the room with you. It fell right on top of you. One of the legs came down on your arm, hence the pain. I don't know what happened to your leg here though. I'm sure the doctor could explain that for you if you wanted to know," Reno explained patting my left leg. "Right now all of society thinks you're dead," he explained. "Shinra wants you to lie low and recover for now. Society wants someone to blame right now for all the shit that's been happening, you know?" He leaned back in his chair and brushed a hand through his unruly bangs. He took a breath and let out a slow sigh. I could practically see the stress etched into his features. Reno's not the kind of person who accepts stress well. He usually blows things off until it's best for him. He never thinks about the bad side of things until he absolutely has to. He gets breaks and sprains and the whole nine yards, but that isn't a bad day for Reno. I've seen him on bad days; days like this.

Well, that all goes to explain why I feel so bad. But… "Why are you here? I'd expect to see a doctor first thing or something."

He grinned. "You needed a bodyguard. I had to beg Tseng to let me watch you. Then again, I sort of had the right." His eyebrows furrowed together for a moment. "Keep in mind that I had no idea what happened to you. I was watching the news here. I was thinking the same thing everyone else was. I thought you were dead. I was in the lounge room when Tseng told me you were okay. I looked like a woman watching one of those sad moves. I had my ice cream out and I was gnawing on my nails and all." Reno shook his head pitifully. "Fuck, I was thinking the next step in our relationship was your funeral." He pinched the bridge of his nose. He does that to concentrate usually but this looked like he was trying to keep himself from crying.

"Reno," I whispered.

"Hey, it's okay," he said. "I'm glad you're safe. I'm seeing to it that those doctors give you the best treatment now." He laughed. It's nice to hear that now. "I could really use a cigarette right 'bout now, but I couldn't seeing as how you inhaled all that smoke before. I don't know how much they would appreciate me smoking in here anyway." I adored that pink color that tainted his cheeks when he laughs. I wanted to kiss him so bad. I frowned, knowing that I couldn't.

Reno leaned on my bed. "Why ya frowning? You're alive, right? Be happy!"

I'm not sure if I'm blushing, but I might as well be. "No, it's just…"

He felt so close. "Hmm?"

"I want to kiss you…but as you can see…"

He smiled sweetly and leaned forward. "Yes sir." I knew it was only a matter of hours since I had kissed him last, but it felt like an eternity. My life had changed faster than a speeding chocobo, but Reno's kiss had not. Despite growing up in a cruel world Reno's kiss was still sweet and its intent was purely of love.

I sighed after we parted. "So when am I going to be able to kiss you on my own again?" Reno patted my shoulder, laughing.

"Not too long. They gave you a really intense materia treatment so you should be better in no time. I'm not even sure if your bones are actually broken anymore. From the looks of it they might be." He shrugged. "You're probably just really sore and weak now. They took care of the burns with some crap I've never heard of too." He brushed the hair out of my eyes for me. "They predicted up to a week to a month for you to be fully healed. How accurate is that, right?" I laughed. He was right; I always get some insane estimate from them. "For now, just relax and let me spoon feed you and give you sponge baths."

"Sounds relaxing enough."

"Doesn't it though?" He paused a second. "Hey, Rufus."

I blinked. "Yes?"

"The next time you have the feeling something really bad is going to happen, don't just sit there, okay? Run to me." Reno patted my head, smiling gently.

I nodded. "Yeah, yeah. But remember, I'm the one who should be giving you advice. Go get my coffee, Turk." I loved the shocked expression he gave me.

"Bastard."

Author's notes: It's over! Rufus lives, I tell you! Amazingly, that turned out way better than I expected. That makes for my first serious FFVII fic despite the fact that I've been a fan for all the years it's been out. Tell me what you think. Go be good children and review.


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